Interview (Sudhir Garg)

Patanjali’s advent into renewable energy space is a result of Baba Ramdev’s striving vision of reaching to a large number population by catering to their electricity needs through clean and natural energy sources. Today, in India, there are many villages and remote localities which are yet to be electrified while the country advances in terms of technology and scaling energy demand-supply. In order to gratify to this section of the country as well as various other sections with clean, reasonable, environment-friendly and economical electricity, Baba Ramdev has ventured into solar energy business. Patanjali Renewables has started manufacturing of solar panels between 5 MW-350 MW. In addition to these, we are also progressively developing our capacity in providing complete solutions with manufacturing of solar inverters, Li-Ion batteries, solar street lights and much more of its kind. The aim is to not only gratify to customers’ needs but also to support government in its fulfillment of ambitious 100 GW capacity of solar energy goals.

“What is the vision of Patanjali Renewable Energy and what roles does it want to play in India's development?”

India’s renewable energy sector is quite gigantic. It does offers good opportunities for energy players to come and discover the same. Patanjali Renewables intends to catch up and explore this opportunities extensively. We endeavor to provide quality and competitive products to the customers rather than just be one more profit-oriented organisation. This in line with the Baba Ramdev’s vision which has shaped our business strategy. Providing right kind of quality product for the specific need of the customer at affordable and economical rates is our aim. We also aim to stay in this market and carry on the legacy of trust that Patanjali has carved out for itself within the customers and continue with the same.

“What is the capacity of Patanjali's solar manufacturing plant? Are there are plans to increase the capacity in the near future?”

At present, Patanjali has set up a solar manufacturing plant of 60 MW. The company aims to escalate the capacity to 150 MW by the end of this financial year. Beyond that the capacity addition will happen depending upon the rise in demand for the same.

Our government’s step to impose safeguard duty has been a good initiative to counter cheaper solar imports. The cheap products anyway won’t be economical for the customers. The pricing of Patanjali’s solar product is rightly priced for the right quality and it is manufactured indigenously. For the customers’ benefit, we provide the Make In India local products which match the standards of foreign products that he customers are seeking. In the line of the same, Patanjali Renewable does have plans for backward integration for bringing in technology advancements in our manufacturing.

“What kind of products does Patanjali Renewable Energy offers in the Indian market? Are there any plans to increase this portfolio of products in the near future?”

Patanjali Renewables offers a bouquet of energy efficient products in the Indian market. It has started with manufacturing of solar panels which ranges from 5 MW-350 MW. The company also manufactures inverters in range of on-grid, off-grid and hybrid. On the battery side, we manufacture lead acid batteries, Li-Ion batteries which are being promoted by MNRE for upgrading energy storage. The company is actively working on this in order to provide advance Li-Ion batteries which are cost-efficient and very useful for solar inverters, solar street lights and various applications. We are also into manufacturing of solar pumps, which is actively promoted by government among the agricultural sector with subsidies on its application. It will help save energy in an extensive way. Patanjali Renewables is also into manufacturing LED Street light, which offers huge saving on energy consumption in compared to normal halogen lights. In future, we would be working on upgradation on the existing portfolio and assist the government in its mission to achieve maximum energy efficiency.

Patanjali products carry a genuine mark and they are based out of implementation of blockchain technology. So, the customers purchasing our products will just have to scan the barcode level printed on the product, adding to the ease of registration of warranty and details of the product can be verified and can be checked as and when the need arises. This also helps in eradicating counterfeit product. This way, we want to build the trust among the customers for our product by leveraging technology and making optimum use of it for product transparency and services.

“As an Indian solar manufacturer, what kind of challenges does Patanjali Renewable Energy face?”

The Indian market is massive. We all are here to cater to the customers with their specific needs. The sense of competition does prevail in regards to offering the best solution at competitive pricing, but at the end, we are part of the same industry. Patanjali Renewables is not competing with anybody, as it aims to serve the people and reach all the possible tapped and untapped areas with its products irrespective of the competition. Our business policy is to be here and provide to the market in all capacities with our indigenous capabilities. The future of renewable energy in the country is bright and everyone in the industry has to work towards catering to the energy needs as well be environment conscious and do business responsibly by providing right quality product at the right price.